While grocery shopping this morning I paused to look at the latest National Geographic magazine.  June 2018 regarding plastic destroying the ocean.  We humans seem to be hell bent on destroying everything before there is an awakening.  Plastic seems to be a necessity.   It is not.  it is a convenience and it is a choice.  Airlines now require that you use a plastic bag for liquids and powders.  So, what do we do?  Here are some of my choices.

Using water and vinegar for shampoo.  Water and baking soda works well for greasy hair.    Buying products packaged in glass, paper, and metal.  Buy local produce.  Grow what you can.  Look for reusable bags made of Hemp.  I use them, I will look for links to help those who are interested.  Really think before buying anything in plastic.  Is there an alternative?  

Hold restaurants and local groceries accountable by letting them know you will not eat food that is farmed and raised with chemicals  Really live your truth!  No bullshit!  If you think something is a problem, avoid it.  Stop participating in the destruction.  You might be in a minority but you will feel empowered with every choice you make!

​Dream the dream and take action too!

Recent paintings.  These  paintings are of a black wolf I spent time with a couple of years ago.  It has been a joy to bring him to life.

I'm a dreamer!  As we grow older and loose friends and loved ones, we realize how short time is for all of us.  There is no time like the present to share our dreams.

My dream came to me years ago but has only recently made more sense.  This dream of humans who no longer need technology or any machine.  Humans who use telepathy to communicate.  Who no longer need to be predators and who are no longer prey.  How this shift in consciousness and biology occurs is still a mystery to me.  There is research being done on people who have made extraordinary shifts in biology.  We are seeing a minority of people accomplish amazing things.  Still it is not the majority of people yet.

The dream is simple.  It is based on humans taking a guardian and care taking role on the planet.  We overcome our fears by learning to use our brains to their full capacity.  This capacity includes the ability to protect ourselves from all harm.  Communication and transportation take place without machines.  We are able to regulate body temperature and keep ourselves comfortable in all conditions.  We no longer need animals for food.  Greed is no longer a motivation.  All of our needs are met.  The pure joy of being a part of such a beautiful planet is what motivates all humans.  No need for Yin/Yang thinking.  The need to experience opposites is a part of the past.

I am not looking for skeptics.  Most people will be skeptical of such complete evolution.  I am looking for other dreamers who are willing to dream the same dream.  I am calling on all dreamers to birth this dream by living as fully in harmony with this possibility as is possible for them today.  If you are able to go with out animal protein and feel healthy, do that!  All of us can choose to boycott factory farm food.  Support local agriculture and grow some of your own food.  Hold your merchants accountable.

These are small steps we can all take to make it clear that we want a healthy and humane future.  

I don't care what your political beliefs are.  I care about the dream.  Are we living in alignment with this future.  We all have to live with the imperfection of today.  We have to deal with todays realities.  Some of us have to eat some animal protein to be healthy.  We can not truly love one another until we truly love all that is.  We are a part of a great creation.  Who or what created this amazing universe and all that is a part of it, is beyond my comprehension.  I am a small part of this dream.  We are all a small part.  I believe no matter how small we may be, we can still play a role in the future of this planet.  Having a shared dream is the beginning.  A willingness to accept the realities of today while making the personal changes that bring us closer to the future is a huge part of being a dreamer.

                                                              The Dream

This blog has been gestating for a couple of weeks.  Today I found  a journal entry from last year that fit this discussion.  Read below:

"My concerns and my passion for our natural environment are my compass and way of being in the world.  As I continue to live more in harmony with the natural world, I accept all as it is.
Humans are part of nature but what we create with the use of natural resources has become a scientific nightmare.  The top polluters of the planet:  The war industry, the energy industry, the medical industry, do more damage to the Earth and our vulnerable psyche.  We have become accustomed to comforts that cost us our quality of life and rob others on the planet of any quality of life at all."

I'm leaving out much of my journal entry so as not to get off track.  For decades i have seen modern life as the problem for the Earth.  Recently I have gained a new perspective that has helped me to be more positive and feel connected to the time period I am part of.

Through studying biology and following some of the latest breakthroughs in science, I have hope that we are truly evolving.  I will include the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza, Microbiome research, and the amazing Win Hof at the end of this blog.  The combination of pushing the human body to it's max to discover ways to control the autonomic nervous system is ground breaking.  The research being done on the gut microbiome is also ground breaking. 

​This information reminded me of a dream I had close to twenty years ago.  In this dream humans no longer needed technology or any of the energy it consumes.  We will learn to use all of our brains to it's fullest capacity.  By doing this we become fearless.  We become the true guardians of the planet and all of it's inhabitants.  There will be no need to fear any life.  Travel is at a slow pace.  I was told that because of the ability to telepathically communicate with anyone we could be anywhere on the planet.  We would enjoy the process of discovery with out danger or fatigue.  We had learned how to change our energy so that no animal saw us as prey.  No human felt a need to harm another human.  It was quite the dream.

As a result of what I am learning about the human nervous system and gut microbiota, I truly believe this dream will become a reality.  I take working with energy more seriously.  As well as meditation to dream this new future.  I will quote a woman I met in Taos New Mexico.  "Homo Sapien Bipedal - We are the only species no eco system on planet earth needs for it's function.  All beings that we call animals are serving a function in there eco systems as studied by homo sapiens."  Wouldn't it be wonderful to be the guardians of all life that I believe we truly are meant to be?  Instead of the destructive force we have become?  You may think this will never happen.  You may believe in a sci fi future.  Give it some thought.  Doesn't it make sense that we were meant to be a part of all of nature.  Doesn't it make more sense to evolve our brains?    
drjoedispenza.com/index.php?page_id=Evolve-Your-Brain

This organization is sharing some innovative ways to save the lives of Wolves.  Multi task if you have to but please take the time to have this on.  If you care about wildlife, you will love this information.

Wow, what a night.  November 18, 2017.  Energy is in the air. Pluto wants to take control and dig deep.  Mars wants to take action but they are in a square aspect.  Tension between moving forward and a need to control.  Can sometimes produce volatile results in our bodies and in our society.  This is the slow simmer of action clashing with power.  Athletic activity is the best use of this energy.

Mercury, the planet of communication in harmony with the north node.  The north node is often a meeting place.  Meeting other people or communicating with other people.  Mercury north node aspects in the natal chart describe a person who needs to communicate something of importance in this life time.  This can be found in the charts of singer/songwriters, journalists, and sales people.  The key is communicating.  Other meanings assigned to the nodes have karmic references.

Is this important?  Only in it's ability to wake us up to the interconnectedness of all life.  We are connected to the earth and all celestial bodies.  Really feel the importance of this.  We can not be at war with life itself?  Power, action, communication, love, beauty, discipline, restriction, expansion, enthusiasm, and purpose.  These are the descriptive phrases used for different planets.  These interpretations have not changed in thousands of years.  Wow, it may not tell you everything but what it does tell you is rock solid and time tested.

I love finding new performing artists.  This is a fun interview and very insightful lyrics.

This has been a powerful life lesson.  I know from my experience, most people struggle with boundaries on some level.  The people I know who are happiest, have STRONG boundaries.  Let's practice together.

Sadly, all humans will pay equally when and if the great correction comes.  This may be the ultimate lesson of humility.  In the mean time, appreciate your freedom to protest, to save wildlife around the world, to have the right to speak freely.  Most countries around the world do not have our freedoms.  I am grateful to be an American.

Reuse, recycle, and reduce your consumption but remember Indigenous hunter gatherers are the only people not harming the planet! If we remain humble with our fellow Americans we can share our perspective with true hope for the future.  I am an environmentalist in that I make decisions based on how they will impact the eco system and the whole.  I don't think anything in nature is a mistake or should be wiped out of existence.  We live in delicate balance with all that exists.  Humbly, I accept that I do harm.  Let's not be smug about our choices.  We all do harm and we are all here to learn.  Let's learn together with a cooperative spirit.  Wishing everyone love and light on our human journey. 

PS  Today I let go of judging negativity.  This may sound like rose colored glasses, etc.  It is simply the practice of The Four Agreements.  When wounds are healed we no longer react to those that harmed us.  What ever our challenges are, we can handle them in the moment.  

Suzanne Somers is a great source of information. She has done her research!  My personal views of western medicine based on personal observation and experience.  

Here are my positive observations first.  Emergency medicine is a modern day miracle.  Lives are saved in auto accidents and war in miraculous ways.  Neonatal care keeps babies alive at merely six months old.  I know people who are here only because of modern neonatal care and the intervention of emergency medicine.  Skulls being rebuilt and people being airlifted to a hospital from a remote location.  This is where modern medicine excels. Scientific research is still the gold standard.  When medicine follows science it excels.

Here is the down side.  A propensity to treat symptoms without looking for underlying biological causes.  A tendency to ignore all other evidence that contradicts the "western medical model of medicine".  Slow to incorporate modern technology that could save the lives of those with disease.  Slower to improve quality of life when chronic illness is involved.

Institutionalized medicine is about making a profit.  That doesn't mean every doctor is out there to make a big profit.  Many doctors work long hours for far less money than they would make as a specialist or proceduralist.  Yes, major institutions look at their bottom line.  Pharmaceutical companies make huge profits and pay there sales people extremely well.  Doctors are influenced by these companies.
www.pointofreturn.com/
At some point, I coined the term "the modern medical industrial complex".  My observations came from watching both of my parents die of cancer.  Within the last two weeks of my Dad's life, a doctor was going to do a colonoscopy on him.  He had already been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.  Was a colonoscopy going to prolong his life?  He also refused a feeding tube.  In both instances I had to speak up on his behalf.  Dying humanely when you have medical insurance that will pay for unnecessary procedures is highly unlikely.  My Mom had died thirteen years earlier of Colon Cancer.  They both had insurance and followed their doctors advice.   Ty Bollinger lost both of his parents to cancer and he made the documentary "The Truth about Cancer".  Links below
www.youtube.com/user/thetruthaboutcancer
www.chrisbeatcancer.com/
Science is making great strides but we are not yet benefiting from all that is being discovered.  We are not getting the best care possible. Stem cell research and the research being done on the gut microbiome may be the future of medicine.  In the mean time, we have to defend ourselves and our planet from what has become a truly toxic system.  Tim Spector has done some brave work on the gut microbiome.  His analogy that we are all a little world speaks to me.  "If we treat our bodies well by not polluting them, maybe we will do the same for the earth."  Love his thought process.  If you don't have concerns about cancer, skip ahead to his amazing work in the last two links
www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-are-the-consequences-of-antibiotic-overuse/
www.danielvitalis.com/rewild-yourself-podcast/rewild-your-gut-the-hadza-experiments-tim-spector-163
www.tim-spector.co.uk/
americangut.org/
My initial observations about modern medicine were from an enviromental pollution perspective.  I was mainly concerned with human pollution and the consequences.  Humans pollute in so many ways.  The list is so long and discouraging. Extreme change in our behavior will be necessary to preserve the diversity, beauty, and life of this amazing planet.  I do believe this current devastation is part of the human learning experience.

As we grow older, many of us, myself included, want to help make changes to leave the world a better place.  My personal definition of a better place is a more holistic world.  Living in harmony with the natural world we are all dependent on.  It is also very important to me to protect wild diversity.  I can't tell you this will make a difference in your little world.  You may never see a Wolf.  You may not care if we have Grizzly Bears.  The coral disappearing in the oceans may not concern you.  I am always amazed at how differently humans can perceive their world and one another.   The fire in my belly wants to wake people up to what they are destroying, what has already been destroyed, and how to say "no" to the sources of that destruction.  That's it.  

This is the beginning of a series of blogs that are going to focus on a discussion of the three major principals listed in The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  The first "be impeccable with your word", the second "do not take anything personally", and the third "never make assumptions".  The fourth agreement is to "do your best".  If you are taking the time to consider this and put these three principals into practice, doing your personal best will follow naturally.

To be impeccable with your word is the most loving thing you can do for yourself.  This concept includes all of the words that run through our brain at any given moment.  We want to think thoughts that make us feel good in our bodies.  This is the best way for me to explain this.  If your thoughts make you feel tense, angry, or in any other way uncomfortable, then they are not kind to you.  They are harming you.  

Our thoughts become our spoken word.  If you are having negative thoughts about another person, most likely you have taken something personally or made an assumption.  Even if you are gifted with perfect timing and amazing tact.  You may be harming your self with your thoughts. Notice your thoughts.  That's the beginning.  Notice what you would like to change.  What is truly stopping you from making the change?   Does it feel better to be right, than to let go of negativity?   The questions are endless and we all have our own unique issues.

This blog is an invitation to discussion.  I am looking for kindred spirits and lively discourse.  Thanks for giving this a try and participating.

While dancing seven summers ago.  I wish I could hold her and share with her what I now know.  Every seven years seems significant to me because of my belief in astrology.  Coincidentally this seven year cycle coincides with my natal saturn return.  Seven years ago saturn was opposite jupiter and transiting saturn passed over my ascendant.  Saturn is all about lessons and learning.  Jupiter is about expansion and belief.  If you are interested in learning more about your own saturn cycles, please call or email.

Three months ago I returned to the eastern part of the country to spend more time with a sister who is in a nursing home and will never fully recover her health.  She had been in ICU several times this past year. This decision brought me face to face with my intense dissatisfaction with our healthcare system.  It also brought me face to face with feelings of fear and personal loss.  I had returned to my Saturn IC Line.  I will include a link for those who are interested in the meaning and symbology of Saturn.  This energy is neither good or bad but it is a strong dose of reality.  No slipping into denial without consequences.  The work I had been doing out west came to an abrupt end.  I found myself in a world that did not appreciate or understand my interests, passions, or basic physical and emotional needs.  It was a big test that left me searching once again for a better way to be and see.  
www.thoughtco.com/planets-and-points-206660
     
I had to make some changes in my immediate environment for my health and emotional well being.  I started to read a book that had been in storage for years.  The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  I will add a link for this also.  I love Astrology for the amazing details it gives about us and the perspective of connectedness with universal intelligence.  Yoga and Reiki are healing and necessary tools for me personally.  Yet, I found myself still dealing with a broken heart.   

The past and the present were pressing in on my chest.  Heart broken for my sister and also feeling as though my dreams would never be realized.  My sisters dreams will never be fulfilled in this lifetime.  She was born mentally and physically handicapped.  She has always wanted a family and children.  My mother taught her a belief system that gives her some comfort.  She believes in a new world where she will have a chance to have a family.  I wish this for her even if I do not share the same beliefs.   I am keenly aware of limitation.  We are not all created equal.  Some of us, if not all of us, are born with some limitation.  I feel a strong need to be gentle.

When I started reading The Four Agreements again, I comprehended the application of the concepts more fully than I had in the past.  I could truly see how improved my life would be if I practiced these agreements.  The final agreement is "To do your Best", this is the only agreement I felt I had honored completely in the past.  Realizing I had been doing my best helped me with forgiveness because I could see that other people were most likely doing their best too.  Even people who are deliberately hurtful.  They are still doing "their best" with their beliefs and personal bias.  

​The book is written very simply and many people may not truly grasp the power of this process. The book needs to be read and practiced in order to comprehend it's power. The Four Agreements need to be practiced with close monitoring of our internal and external speech. Daily failure can be observed with compassion and a willingness to keep at it. Personally I find it more powerful than any religious teaching, yet it can be used along with any religious belief.  
experiencelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/28-the-four-agreements.pdf
​
In order to master energy, we must be able to master our emotions.  Feeling happy or pleasantly distracted until some person or circumstance irritates you, is not enough for true mastery.  It's so easy to blame the person or circumstance rather than process the emotions. When you practice The Four Agreements there is no escape.  You will fail!  You will criticize someone.  Most likely yourself!  You will take something personally!   The link below will take you to a site that has articles that will help you to monitor your progress along with the book.  www.toltecspirit.com/   

I hope you will join me in this practice.  I am going to set up a page for discussion in the future.  Here's to new beginnings!

When you are forced to make tough choices.  When life is "hard".  "Calling all Angels" may be the only thing we can do.

This is my new friend Roxy.  She is a Pit Bull that was used for breeding.  She lived in a cage for her first few years and was abused.  She is now loved and she is one of the most loving dogs I have ever met.  

It is my opinion that feeling peaceful is the most elevated of all emotions, yet it is the hardest to achieve.  We all know loving, generous souls that struggle with certain areas of their life that rob them of their peace.  Sometimes it is a health issue.  Relationship issues often cause the most strife in our lives.  How do we find peace when our health and our relationships are imperfect?  When we are peaceful, our mind is not turbulent or filled with worry.  Most of us are on a journey to learn to trust life.  If you are not feeling peaceful, you are not alone.

I find being out in nature makes me feel peaceful. You may find peace during meditation. Many find peace when fully engaged in some type of volunteer activity. Life will never be perfect and our fellow human beings will always be "human".  Experiment with activities to see what works for you.  Self acceptance and acceptance of others is also another way to bring yourself peaceful feelings.  Any time spent being peaceful will improve your health and relationships.

Below is a documentary about Joan Baez, Peace Activist and Folk singer and songwriter.  I would imagine that Joan has not always been peaceful but she has advocated for peaceful non violent resolution of conflict all of her life.  Following her conscience courageously on behalf of herself and others has left her a great legacy.  

This is a newspaper clipping of my Dad back in 1970. As you can see, he was in opposition to Joan Baez and the peace movement.  He served his country in the Korean War, coming home with three Silver Stars and the Purple Heart.  Medals of honor and bravery in combat.  He followed his conscience by protesting a movement that he believed was unpatriotic..  He was a life long member of the Democratic Party.  The Peace movement was not supported by either party at that time.  As a young child I was enamored with the songs of protest by Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez.  I was also proud of my Dad.  As you can imagine, this created an inner conflict.  I believe in non violent resolution to conflict. I also believe in the right to self defense and the "right to bear arms".   My conscience has made peace with these seemingly opposing views. 

Most certainly we must follow our conscience in the face of opposition. Opposition comes from people who do not care about us at all and from the people who love us the most. It has been my experience, that standing up to the people who love us when their conscience is in conflict with our own can be the most challenging. Holding a peaceful and loving stand in the face of opposition takes more courage than any type of fighting.  These are my opinions based on my experience and my conscience.  I fully respect that others may disagree!

Here's to the evolution of non violent resolution of conflict. Let's help future generations to be  raised with acceptance and inner peace.